ing on the floor ] >> i'm going to keep this. >> jimmy: yeah. this is "nightline." tonight n the free-range family young children are allowed to get around by themselves. now they are in danger but not from strangers. could a parenting style meant to encourage independence really cost them their own kids? can shopping feel as good as sex? for some shopaholics it triggers pleasure centers in the brain. tonight we put one woman to the test to find out what happens when you get your fashion fix. pimp my ride. hillary clinton hitting the presidential campaign in a van called scooby. but in hollywood the tricked out cars are more extreme. >> oh, my gosh. >> meet the man who helped frempb johnny depp to michael

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>> good evening. thank you for joining us. how young is too young to let your children roam free? you are about to meet parents

whose style is ooeteither relaxed or dangerous depending who you ask. they encourage independence even if other parents disapprove. now police are involved. here's abc's david wright. >> reporter: for this family stranger danger didn't mean confrontation with a gang member, bully or child molester it meant another run in with the police. he's 10 she's 6. this was their third recent encounter with law enforcement. their crime, walking home from the neighborhood playground by themselves. their mom and dad apparently defying an order from child protective services not to let them do that anymore. >> cps has finally succeeded in making me terrified to let my kids out unsupervised because i'm afraid they will take them away. i was never scared of strangers. >> reporter: their parents believe in trusting their kids and the community. so they give them the freedom to

roam outside of the parental safety net. the problem is that's illegal in maryland. >> the law is that children should not be left alone but in confined areas, such as a house, a school or a motor vehicle. they don't really address what happens if you leave a child alone outside of the home school or confined area. >> reporter: maryland child protective services recently found the meitivs responsible for unsubstantiated child neglect after a similar trip home from this park which is a mile from their home in silver spring maryland. they said this weekend the kids agreed to come home by 6:00 p.m. but they were late. so the parents got worried. we have been searching for the kids for hours she posted to facebook. >> it occurred to us that the police may have picked them up. >> reporter: later she said the she learned the kids stopped to pet a dog and the own 0er called 911. local police held the kids in a cruiser for 2 1/2 hours as they

contacted child protective services. >> after sitting in the car for 2 1/2 hours he said okay i'm going to bring you home. instead he brought us here. >> reporter: here was child protective services which held them a further six hours. all the while with no access to food according to to the parents until mom and dad agreed to follow the safety plan not letting them out of their sight when they are not at school. the parents say they didn't get home until midnight on a school night. >> you know how nancy grace hears the kidnapping and horrible things i hear people who have been arrested for people letting their kid play outside and walk in the park. no parent should have to go through that to trust their child, community and their parenting. >> reporter: she is one of the champions of free range parenting. >> tell me. what aren't you allowed to do. >> we aren't allowed to play in the backyard alone. >> reporter: she has her own

show on the discovery lifestyle network a show based in silver spring. the show "world's worst mom" is about shooting holes in the rationale for helicopter parenting. >> i go to homes where parents are nervous and overprotective and find the things kids aren't allowed to do. i say okay, we let you walk to school have an overnight, use a knife and i lock the parents in the house and send the kids out on their own. >> we met her in 2009 after she let her son ride the new york city subway alone. he was 9 then. he is 17 now. you turned out okay? >> i'm alive. after i got home, i was ecstatic i felt like i was on the top of the world. >> reporter: after this trip he pushed the boundaries farther. he said the scariest thing he encounters was the police. >> stopped by the police three

times. not for anything bad. >> no, but -- once i got pulled over by the same cop twice. >> the cop said what if you were kidnapped. maybe i'm remembering this wrong. and he said, well, there's a ton of people on the train. i'm going to be fine. and he said what if there are two kidnappers i loved his comment, aren't you supposed to save me. >> reporter: the counter argument is summed in a case playing out in a new york city courthouse. 6-year-old etan patz disappeared walking to the school bus alone. his mom waved good-bye that morning and never saw him again. >> hope they treat him nicely and get him back to us somehow. >> reporter: the case spawned a national movement to track down children abducted, putting their faces on milk cars on the and allowing law enforcement to share information. the anniversary of his disappearance is now national missing children's day. only now is his alleged killer

being brought to trial. pedro hernandez confessed in 2012 that he choked the boy to death after enticing him in to a bow degas by offering him a soda. the case will go to the jury tomorrow. maryland toughened the laws in the wake of the case and partly because of that that child pro-0tective services there give parents like meitivs such a hard time. maryland cps declined to comment on the case but issued a statement saying protecting children is the agency's number one priority and vowing to work in the best interest of all children. but danielle meitiv insists the agency is pushing the mandate too far. >> they made us sign a safety pledge we will not leave them unattended and i'm not going to risk my kids being snatched again by cps. >> reporter: she insists parents, not the police are best positioned to know that what

their kids are capable of. the meitivs point out they are raising their kids the way they themselves were raised. >> people who say it is dangerous and the world is different have frankly been watching too much tv. >> reporter: tonight the family's lawyer issued a statement. the meitivs are rightfully outraged by the irresponsible actions of cps and police. we must ask yourselves how we reached a point where a parent's biggest fear is government officials will seize our children off the streets as they walk in our neighborhood. times have changed. now these two kids are caught in the middle. i'm david wright for "nightline" in washington. >> can children take care of themselves? head to our "nightline" facebook page and let us know what you think of free-range parenting in the comments. next this is what your brain looks like on shopping. even if the numbers on the sale rack look low, you could be paying a higher price than you

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what's better for you sex or shopping? don't laugh for many people there are similarities. we see what happens to your brain when you get your fast fashion fix. ♪ >> finding a good deal makes me really happy. >> reporter: what woman doesn't love to shop? what if we told you shopping can give you the same pleasure as

sex. >> i love. this i want this dress. >> reporter: do i hear more shopping please? >> this is adorable. this is totally fun. >> reporter: to find out how that is possible we mounted a go pro on 30-year-old alex roberts. >> i'm excited to be shopping, to be honest. i haven't been to stores since last weekend. >> reporter: to see what is going on in her brain as she hunts for her new spring palate. but more on that later. she is one of the millennials growing up where cheap chic is everywhere bringing a new generation of shopaholics. take maddie. >> it is to the pointed toe thing. >> reporter: they are a few of the young self-made celebrities who are famous for literally bragging about their scores on you tube in a phenomenon known as haul videos. racking up millions of views. stores like h and m, forever 21

and zara have made shopping a euphoric, almost addictive experience for many creating a multibillion dollar industry. on average americans buy more than one item of clothing each week. take a peek in alex's closet. you shop often. this is your sport? >> it is. >> reporter: so you have tags on them? >> yes, i do. >> reporter: buying as fast as you can wear it. >> yeah. i feel so excited and pumped up when i do go shopping. kind of like a drug. >> reporter: so is shopping really like a drug? to find out we followed alex as she hit up her favorite stores. a new technology called facial tracking should tell us if alex is experiencing a high-like euphoria while shopping. first stop zara. >> i love this. this is amazing. it is 169, which isn't bad for a jacket. >> reporter: immediately alex says she starts to feel like she

has to have what she sees. >> i have been looking for these. some camo pants. these are awesome. i'm probably going to have to get these. i have been looking for something like this for a year. so it might be my lucky day. >> reporter: what is really happening in alex's brain? according to analysis provided by the fashl tracking company nviso she is on a shopping high. her eyes are wide and alert, mouth slightly open. these are signs the pleasure center in her brain is lighting up, which experts at the university of michigan say is comparable to the joy felt after having sex. >> i just got a pair of camouflage jeans. >> reporter: do you did you feel when you spotted them? >> i was super excited. and then i was even more excited when i saw they were my size and the price. >> reporter: so it was a triple whammy of excitement. >> it is like this is meant to be. the universe is just you know. it's right now. i have to get these. >> a lot of emotions are

unconscious and under the surface. >> reporter: scott rick, a professor of marketing at the university of michigan and his team of researchers took an even closer look actually scanning shoppers' brains. >> we found the more evidence of pleasure were activation in regions that are targeted by dopamine, the more likely they were to buy the good. that is consistent with the notion, a similar brain region that underlies the craving for drugs, sex or friends. >> reporter: they were surprised to learn something else. >> there's this pain that's associated with spending. to the best we can tell there seems to be a tradeoff. weighing of pleasure versus pain. >> reporter: yes, according to rick, spending actually causes us stress. was that the case for alex? we turn back to our facial tracking experiment to find out. >> i definitely find some awesome pieces at forever. so inexpensive i don't look at

price tags. i need a denim shirt. >> reporter: she seems to be enjoying herself, but her brain is saying something else. alex's tightening of the lip and scanning items indicates she's disappointed and feeling stress according to facial tracking experts. >> thank you. >> reporter: alex scored three items under $90 at forever 21. >> makes me feel happy. i feel like i got a good deal for three things. >> reporter: the facial tracking shows a higher stress level. saying she may have felt compelled to buy the clothes because they were so cheap but it goes way beyond just keeping prices low. retailers use dozens of tricks to lure customers to buy more. michelle madhok analyzes retail and marketing trends and knows these tactics all too well. >> these stores are set up to set off your brain in the pleasure center. they are hitting something in our human behavior that gets you to want to buy. we call it you are buying

yourself happy. >> i'm in love with this but it is an extra small. >> there's lights music, smells good. it is immersing yourself in the feel-good experience. >> this is at h and m. you can see they are using the pricing technique to draw you in. instead of saying $10, it is $9.95 which makes it seem cheaper than it actually is. uniqlo is their fashion. they are good at limited edition. these are limited edition outfits they are doing with artists right now. andy warhol, keith herring. this is something fashion does to skraet a scarcity and mediascy to buy something. >> reporter: alex says learning the science behind her shopping habits won't deter her from getting that fashion fix. for "nightline," i'm mara schiavocampo in new york. and next from snoop dogg to

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ar music playing ) - ( snaps, clatters ) that sounds awful. ( music stops ) but a lot better than last week. ( rock music playing ) ♪ we weren't born to follow. ♪ ♪ finally tonight, name five things politicians and musicians have in common. we found one for you. tricked out, high-end spare-no-expense cars designed by the same guy. this is bling on four wheels and abc's rachel smith is about to take us inside. >> reporter: meet sdoob by.

the secretive campaign van that hillary clinton is taking on a 1,000 mile trip from new york to iowa on the first leg of her race for the white house. aside from the groovy name, we don't know much about hillary's presidential ride, but in hollywood the stars are used to more pimped out vans like these. you get this treatment all the time? >> all the time. >> reporter: howard becker is the go-to guru of luxury, high-security vehicles made just for the rich and powerful. he created custom rides for just about everyone on the global a-list from snoop dogg ben aflex and even the king of morocco. >> we get you special passes. >> reporter: we wanted to look inside for ourselves. think this is an ordinary van? think again. >> oh my gosh. howard says they are the ultimate in security and luxury. >> what does this do? >> this can basically run t

western part of the united states. >> reporter: it doesn't end there. >> see how comfortable we can get you. >> reporter: i'm never getting out. this car seat is set to luxury recline that comes standard with, why not a massage system. if that wasn't enough -- let's browse the movie library while i'm getting a massage. his customer's requests are limited only by their imagination. >> we get interesting requests. >> reporter: interesting is right. everything from full media centers to custom-made workout rooms. this special van even has a built-in bathroom. >> is it possible to feel like beyonce when you come out of the bathroom because i kind of did. i had an electric door as i'm leaving the bathroom. this is awesome! bruce spring teen johnny depp and the late king of pop michael jackson have been counted among howard's customers. >> michael was an early customer of ours that came in with more

creativity and energy than you could believe. >> reporter: we spotted a familiar name getting his customized ride. >> dr. dre raisin' the roof. >> reporter: with the over-the-top amenities comes an over-the-top price tag. >> our cadillac esv conversions vehicle start off as modest as 160,000 and some of our real expensive projects will go up past 400,000. and then armoring if you add that to it can go up beyond 500,000, with everything else included. >> reporter: they only get bigger bigger, flashier and pricier from there. >> forget the house. you can have a car, house, gym. >> reporter: these custom cars may not be affordable anytime soon we can always enjoy them from a distance. i can learn to do luxury cars. >> reporter: for "nightline," i'm rachel smith, on a massage chair in los angeles. >> wow. i remember when an 8-track made

your car special and the new fancy rides have names. the beast, lady gaga's rolls royce bloody mary does your car have a name? thank you for watching abc news. tune in to good morning america tomorrow and as always we are on-line at abcnews.com. good night, america.